IFA 2018 highlights: Samsung, Sony, 8K TVs and more

IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin) is Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show. From 31st August to 5th September, Messe Berlin is opening its doors to hundreds of brands for a showcase of new products.

From Samsung to Sony, Technics to Philips, this is when we find out the gear and gadgets to look forward to over the coming weeks and months.

IFA 2018 pre-show news

IFA 2018 what to expect

B&O

Whether or not the speaker and headphone company will be bringing out new products remains to be seen (you'd think it would be - it's hosting a press conference), we do expect it to be showing off its Spring/Summer collection - which includes the Beoplay A1 and Beoplay P2 speakers, and the Beoplay H4 wireless headphones.

LG

Will LG install its iconic OLED tunnel for the third year running? We wouldn't be alone in saying we hope so. Equally likely is its indulgence in all things OLED, its 2018 OLED TV range getting off to a flying start with the five-star OLED55C8PLA.

Probably amongst the screens will be its new Atmos soundbar, the SK10Y, and (considering LG’s chief executive officer Jo Seong-Jin and chief technology officer Dr. I.P. Park are due to deliver a keynote about the brand’s ThinQ artifical intelligence), we can expect to see the latest fare that falls under that umbrella - including the G7 ThinQ smartphone and WK7 ThinQ wireless speaker. And maybe an ‘intelligent’ fridge or two. Hopefully there’ll be new new product as well.

LG used IFA 2017 to unveil (and demonstrate) its V30, the first smartphone with MQA audio support, so we could be treated to a new smartphone this time round too.

Panasonic

We’re more confident than ever with Panasonic’s OLED efforts having recently seen (and awarded five stars to) its TX-55FZ802, and we don’t doubt OLED will be under the spotlight in Panasonic’s booth - probably alongside its recently announced 4K Blu-ray player.

With 2018 marking Panasonic’s 100th birthday, we anticipate more product announcements at IFA to mark the occasion. And of course, the ‘100 Years’ exhibition we saw at CES 2018 could resurface.

Last month, Philips and B&W announced a "a new multi-year exclusive partnership", which we imagine means better sound on future Philips TVs, courtesy of Bowers & Wilkins. According to both companies, IFA is where we’ll get the "first glimpse of the potential of the new partnership…” The news has now been confirmed but details remain thin on the ground, so we look forward to getting the full scoop on the showfloor.

Samsung

While we’ve been able to ogle 8K screens during the last few IFAs thanks to their presence on Sharp’s stand, this could be the first IFA we see an 8K TV (or two) from Samsung. The Korean giant supposedly has two 8K TV ranges up its sleeve, with the first due to launch towards the end of the year.

Who knows what else we could see - Samsung’s next-gen Frame TV? Another high-end (or even new flagship) QLED TV? But with the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event taking place in New York on August 9th, we now know that IFA won’t be the launch pad for company’s forthcoming Galaxy Note 9.

We'll be hands on at the Samsung IFA 2018 press conference on the Thursday morning.

Needless to say it will be all hands on our laptop keyboards during the Sony IFA 2018 press conference on Thursday 30th.

TCL

Although nothing has been announced as yet, QLED TVs and new Android TVs is where we'd put our money. We'd expect lots of big, budget 4K TVs too - including the ones that have recently launched in the UK.

Toshiba

IFA 2017 was a prolific affair for Toshiba, who announced everything from a big-screen 4K OLED TV to a small-screen Star Wars-themed telly. We expect more of the former from the TV brand, as well as the selection of 4K and HD TVs it's been making with Amazon - which runs the Fire TV operating system found on the Fire TV Sticks.